Projects per year
Organization profile
Introduction / mission
In this research area we focus on a variety of frontends where low power consumption and energy efficiency plays an important role, in particular we focus on biomedical applications. Both frontends for wireless communication and frontends for sensor interfacing are considered.
Organisational profile
In today’s world, wireless communication in small, battery-powered devices is omnipresent. For instance: smart phones, tablets and watches with a plurality of wireless interfaces; wireless networks around the body; and smart-dust sensor nodes. Due to requirements in terms of small physical size, long battery lifetime, limited body-tissue heating, and increasing data rates, there is a continuous demand for improving energy efficiency.
We are addressing these requirements in various ways, for instance:
• Smartness: by using adaptive non-linear components, self-interference of multi-standard radios can be greatly suppressed, leading to relaxed circuit requirements and better system performance.
• Wake-up radios: by using an extremely low-power wake-up radio next to a main radio, power can be saved during inactivity by suspending the power-hungry main radio.
• Beam-steering phased arrays: by means of an array of antennas, the directivity of wireless communication can be tuned perfectly from transmitter to receiver, thus avoiding power loss in other directions and improving spatial selectivity. We are developing circuits to implement these beam-steering systems.
• Optical-wireless communication systems: while wireless communication is often performed electromagnetically, optical solutions are becoming interesting to provide extremely high data rates. We thus develop systems that combine both forms of communication.
• Monolithic wireless sensors with energy harvesting: smart-dust applications require ~1mm3-size autonomous devices. This is only feasible if the whole system (including the sensor, the wireless communication with antenna, but also the energy harvesting & storage components) can be integrated on a single chip without external components. To achieve this, we develop system concepts and actual circuits that can implement all these functionalities with a very low power consumption.
Besides looking at wireless frontends, this research field of the IC group also considers sensor front-ends. Again energy-efficiency plays a prominent role. Further, we focus on biomedical applications in particular. Apart from just circuit design, here we spend also effort to develop complete systems, demonstrators, and to acquire know-how of medical applications and signals. A few examples within this domain are:
• Power-efficient amplifiers and ADCs for fetal monitoring: fetal monitoring is extremely difficult due to the small signals of interest combined with large interferences. We are developing smart, reconfigurable circuits that can capture those signals reliably in a power-optimized way. We do this by combining reconfigurable circuits with signal-processing algorithms.
• Interfaces for deep-brain-stimulation: in order to develop circuits for brain-stimulation electrodes, models are developed and experimentally verified. This knowhow is used to optimally design amplifiers and stimulation electronics.
• Wearable wireless sensor systems for health monitoring: tele-health applications require continuous monitoring of vital information, such as blood pressure and ECG. We develop low-power circuits for signal monitoring and wireless communication, as well as system demonstrators that can be used in real-life experiments.
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Profiles
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Pieter J.A. Harpe
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Center for Care & Cure Technology Eindhoven (C3Te)
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Resource Efficient Electronics
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Integrated Circuits - Associate Professor
Person: UHD : Associate Professor
Projects
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A pilot line for the next generation of smart catheters and implants
Harpe, P. J. A., van Dommele, A. R. (., Pelzers, K. M. P., Xin, H. & van der Hagen, D.
1/06/18 → 31/05/21
Project: Research direct
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LOCATE (MsM) 15282
Harpe, P. J. A., van Dommele, A. R. (., Zhou, M. & van der Hagen, D.
1/10/17 → 30/09/21
Project: Research direct
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Enabling widespread ambulatory monitoring for improved pregnancy outcome (MsM)
Harpe, P. J. A., Zhang, Y. & van der Hagen, D.
1/03/16 → 30/11/21
Project: Research direct
Research output
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A 1.25 µJ per Measurement Ultrasound Rangefinder System in 65nm CMOS for Explorations With a Swarm of Sensor Nodes
Berkol, G., Baltus, P. G. M., Harpe, P. J. A. & Cantatore, E., 2021, (Accepted/In press) In : IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers. XX, XXResearch output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
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Architecture and IC Implementation of Ultrasound Communication and Rangefinder Systems for Sensor Swarms
Berkol, G., 24 Feb 2021, Eindhoven: Technische Universiteit Eindhoven. 143 p.Research output: Thesis › Phd Thesis 1 (Research TU/e / Graduation TU/e)
Open AccessFile -
A 0.38-pJ/b Simplex and a 1.2-pJ/b Full-Duplex Chip-to-Chip Digital Communication Interface with Data Rate and Load Capacitance Adaptability
Shen, Y., Li, H., Cantatore, E. & Harpe, P., 2020, In : IEEE Solid-State Circuits Letters. 3, p. 322-325 4 p., 9171283.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
Activities
- 7 Contributed talk
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SAR ADCs for IoT: Basics and Innovations
Pieter Harpe (Speaker)
28 Nov 2016Activity: Talk or presentation types › Contributed talk › Scientific
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Power-Efficient, High-Resolution and Reconfigurable SAR ADCs
Pieter Harpe (Speaker)
8 Sep 2016Activity: Talk or presentation types › Contributed talk › Scientific
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Ultra Low-Power Analog Front-End Design
Pieter Harpe (Speaker)
8 Sep 2016Activity: Talk or presentation types › Contributed talk › Scientific
Press / Media
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CMOS digitally programmable analog front-ends for third generation wireless applications
13/06/20
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Expert Comment
Student theses
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Miniaturised low power IR optical sensor system for high accuracy and high speed identification of linear displacement
Author: Siddiqui, A., 29 Oct 2018Supervisor: Stuijk, S. (Supervisor 1), Harpe, P. (Supervisor 2), Huisken, J. (Supervisor 2) & Veltman, E. (External person) (External coach)
Student thesis: Master
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